Friday, December 23, 2011

We premiered this big four-ounce bar with our first delivery to Our Community Pantry, and then to great fanfare at the People's Holiday Market, where it was the first item to sell out. It is now available online as well, through email: roxchoxpdx@gmail.com, and will soon be on the website as well. In 2012, it will be available at People's Coop! The Phenomenon. A lot of Rox Chox. It's your birthday.

Solstice and Chanukah and Christmas and Kwanzaa greetings to everyone!

We are happy to welcome the light back into our lives, and so happy you Rox Chox lovers are here to share it with us.

It’s been a while since we last gave a Rox Chox update, since we had big life changes and transition to take care of, so this post is both about business and life, as they are intertwined. We are back in Portland and are committed to bringing Rox Chox to the people. We made a limited edition holiday special of Rox Chox in jars with ribbons, and they have proved very popular.

I had so much fun working with Rox Chox today. The annual People’s Holiday Craft and Farmer’s Market was a lively whirlwind of beautiful faces, voices, and names from all over the world and a landscape of bountiful local splendor. My booth was outdoors and my breath created successive moments of light fog around my bundled head and layers of wool sweaters kept my teeth from chattering. I kept a wooden bowl and spoon continuously filled with over two pounds of bite-sized Rox Chox and offered samples to the passers-by. For five hours I expounded upon the benefits of xylitol, raw cacao, and coconut and shook hands with and recorded the names* of over sixty-five people as they bought or traded in Rox Chox. I had the chance to try out a few catch phrases in French, Russian, and Finnish, to my delight and possibly others’ chagrin. I personally witnessed the delightful result of our work as many eyes widened in surprised appreciation of the deliciousness. I lit the menorah for the second night of Chanukah and learned a new saying in Hebrew from a just-met friend. I saw and hugged many friends, shook many hands, shared many smiles and much chocolate. On top of it all, I made the rent for the Rox Lab. Now that’s a great day.

Yes, our little Rox Chox family now lives happily in Portland again. We had a pretty smooth transition once the decision was made to return home – River and I (Rochelle) both got our other jobs back (River is a chef and I’m a grocer and studio co-manager) and we found a great apartment that has nice-smelling bushes out front under which our baby Mr. Kitty hides and spies on the world outside. We are all feeling much better. We did have an adventurous three-months exploring San Francisco and SFAI’s MFA program but we didn’t like the taste of that debt or the lack of trees, and we are much happier to be investing directly in our future with Rox Chox and riding bikes through piles and under boughs of many colorful leaves. This is where we belong, and it feels amazing to all of a sudden own a business that has the potential to support us. We get to decide how quickly we grow, and we are taking it one carefully-planned step at a time. We are getting used to our new Rox Lab and this month will be building a dividing wall, as per the Health Inspector’s request. Pretty soon we will be able to invest in new flavors and packages, and soon after that Rox Chox will hopefully be our full time job. They say it takes two years to begin to make a profit on your own business? We’re aiming for at least that. Our business is almost nine months old, so it makes sense that around the time it’s walking it would be on its own two feet.

Here are some of our latest steps:
Rox Chox are newly available as bars on the shelf in addition to the bulk at the Alberta co-op, and are new as bars at Proper Eats in St. Johns. A lovely locale featuring local organic produce, a café, and live music. www.propereats.org. (Let them know if you want Chox in bulk!) We also now offer our Chox through a local organic buying club organized by a great guy named Brion Oliver: http://ourcommunitypantry.com He gave us a great quip about Rox Chox: “This local, artisanal chocolate currently comes in just one flavor, but it’s some of the best I’ve ever had and possibly the best local chocolate in town. The coconut oil gives it a mild coconut taste and the xylitol makes it crispy, like a Nestle Crunch bar. It’s really good stuff.” Thanks, Brion!

Here's a special limited offer for those of you who have read this far: If any of you would like to tell us what you love about Rox Chox for our 'Rave Reviews' section, we will send you a square of Rox Chox in return (if it's a good review, that is). Just write up a few sentences and email us your address or get your Chox from us in person. (roxchoxpdx@gmail.com)

It is so beyond-words wonderful to be back in Portland and at home amongst our community. Thanks for welcoming us back. I feel so thankful to those of you who love to treat yourself to Rox Chox and who truly enjoy the work that we do. It is a greatly rewarding job to be of service to your chocolate needs and to see happy written all over your face. Thanks for loving our chocolate creations! To life!

* Thank you to all of the new and old-friend people I met tonight whose contribution this holiday season is very directly keeping Rox Chox in business: Esther Yan for the ride to the fair, Karen and Beck for the ride fro, Amira Mednick for the last-minute tent loan, Kim Card for bringing me a tamale, Maureen for bringing me licorice tea, Anastasia for the coffee and rice milk, and to Chris of Lovejoy coffee, Marty of the knitted mitts, and Gee Creek Farms for trading, and to those of you who dropped hard-earned cash on our Chox: Brian Heck, Sara Powell, Karen, Brian, Corbin Dallas, Eliot, Jeremy & Shelly, Brian, LaBrae, Kate, Raji & Arbin, Eric, Brian, Amy, Joanna, Ed, Mary Ann & Catha, Alex, Mina, Hazel, Juli, Josie, Dylan, Barbara, Maureen O’Brien, Judith, Beth, Jody, Joanne, Naomi, Nicholas, Brian, Clio, Reen, Peggy, Guillaume & Christiana, Judith for Ashley, Lara for Maureen, Meerka for Ivan in Slovakia, Joe, Mary & Reed, Ivy, Judith, Christine, Anna, Fiona, Julie, Tasha, Julie for her sister, Phil, Bill, Patty, Eve, Bert, Melissa, Elisabet, Max, Zane, Lam, and the two ladies who were the first to buy two squares promptly at 2pm before I got the great idea to record everyone’s names.

Howdy to the great anonymous unknown energetic ether of the internet from a sunny blustery hilltop in San Francisco!

Occupy Wall Street is going so strong, and this is just the beginning. I'd like to share with you, world out there, chocolate fans and fellow 99%, that here at Rox Chox we are part of the 99%, and our mission is to use any profits we may generate from this business to support the 99% through barter, trade, employment, fair trade sourcing practices, and once we are 'in the black', a flexible pricing structure aimed at providing Rox Chox on a sliding scale to lower-income markets.

I took huge loans to go to school and to begin this business and will be in debt for quite some time. When I am no longer a student, I will once again be without health insurance. At one point I dreamed of becoming a teacher, and I would be a really great one, but the education system has been corrupted and there are hardly any teaching jobs. Good thing I happen to be pretty good at managing and organizing a business, because Rox Chox is our basket, and almost all of our golden eggs are stuck like glue to its sides.

Good thing the 99% are loving the chocolate we make. River brought home nine cases of bars from his chocolate-making trip to Portland last week, and we already sold out! The Ashland Coop will soon be host to Rox, and Eugene is LOVING Rox Chox. Sundance Grocery has been selling bars like hotcakes, and they just ordered SIX CASES! Then we got some internet orders (surprise!) and now we are sold out... and I'm like, "Hey, what am I supposed to eat?"

Time to high-tail it back to Portland again... where the Police are proving to be Peaceful with the protesters. Maybe they are smart enough to realize that they are the 99% too! I just saw a chart yesterday that showed that around the world, C.E.O.'s make approx 20 times what the average worker makes. Here in the good ol' Democratic U.S. of A., however, if you are a C.E.O. you can make up to FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN dollars for every $1 made by the 99%. And, you can create an economic crisis, steal the homes of the People, steal their Pensions, and then get bailed out by their tax dollars! Wow. What a land of opportunity it is for the 1% who are born into the elite class!

I am working towards the eradication of the entire system of oppression. I envision a NEW way of building and sharing resources, reestablishing the collective consciousness, and caring for each other. This business, and this blogging project of sharing our experiences of the struggles and triumphs of the entrepreneurial journey are my attempt at expanding the concept of what a business really is and of what we are each capable of. This is the People's New Deal. We can do this, 99%. Are you with me?

Monday, September 26, 2011

Today in my 'Global Perspectives on Modernity' class, we were discussing Marx's theory of alienation. So many workers on this planet are trapped in jobs which are not at all related to who they really are. Rox Chox is different. My teacher said that Marx would approve, then qualified that with, 'well, actually, it's not really on a large enough scale.' Well, maybe not yet, but sooner than we think, at this rate.

I wish I could hand out self-empowerment and self-employment like I can hand out chocolate samples. Perhaps that will be a longer-term goal: Rox Chox Microlending. For now, I am super duper happy with the smile on this sweet face:

That's our license! River has been in Portland making Chox nonstop since we got it. My heart is warmed.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Whooo hoo! Rox Chox will be available soon to the fine folks in Ashland, Oregon at the Ashland Food Coop! The thrill of hearing another grocery buyer say, 'Yes, please' to our delicious chocolate just doesn't get old.

In other news, Rox and Chox are really grateful for student loans. They are essentially paying for the creation of a small-scale raw food preparation space: tools of one arm of my social art practice. Today I said to River, "by January, we'll be in the black!" and he said, "No, no, honey. When you've paid yourself back all that you've invested, then you'll be in the black." Finances are not my strong suit, but I sure don't have a problem letting go of them when it is a very good investment. With our Raw Lab almost finished, our last big investments are coming up: a mold and labels. And then a short little tiny bit later Rox Chox will be solidly in the black. And all the happier for it.

The graduate seminar talk about Rox Chox went well, by the way. People asked some clarifying questions, used the word 'delicious' more than a few times, and were impressed with the Fair Trade aspect especially. One insightful question posed was, "how do you see your labor and the labor of those who are farming the cacao to be related?" That is a great question, and at the time I talked about raising awareness for fair trade practices. But really, although I haven't (yet) met the farmers of our cacao, coconut, vanilla, xylitol, and salt, we are all collaborating. I suppose I see this as a giant collaborative art project, synthesized in a tasty treat. The project is finished when the smile is on the mouth that is savoring the result of all of our combined work.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

If you or someone you know is in San Francisco and wants to try some Rox Chox, look for us on Wednesday at the UN Plaza Farmer's Market, where we will be handing out Rox Chox samples and selling our bars! Happy Birthday, Farmer's Market SF!

Friday, September 2, 2011

Hello Chocolate lovers! You may be happy to hear that San Francisco city life and Grad School are not stopping Rox Chox production. In fact, the tines intertwine and they are mutually inspiring. With Sage competently holding the business reins and River manning the Chocolate Lab, I am free to think about art. And what do I find myself doing? Applying the art theory of Global Perspectives on Modernity and Alternative Contexts to Rox Chox. Ferreting out the silkscreen lab and designing merch. (And then also some secret future art projects).

Yes, Rox Chox is a little engine that could these days. In fact, we heard via telephone yesterday that Berryvale Grocery in Mt Shasta would like to offer our treats as soon as we get our new packaging, which Sage is currently researching. Then Yusef, the owner of Valencia Whole Foods in Ol' Frisco had a nice greeting for me: "What's wrong with your packaging?" Vicki tells us that 'Joe' means well. He's trying to help - he knows what sells. California likes food that looks like it came out of a machine, as River says. It's that hegemony of the image again, darn! Well, we're just going to infiltrate that system of oppressive capitalism with our hard core compassionate business ethics and seductively powerful chocolate. This isn't just a treat we're peddling, it's a message. So today I took the lid from the box the Rox Chox checks came in, covered it in shiny gold stickers, and took it in there. Brought my coconut water to the counter and chatted with Vicki for a minute. She had noticed the shiny gold object and suggested I move Rox Chox up a shelf to the front-and-center spot. As Ninja of Die Antwoord would say, "veery fahncy."

Tomorrow we pick up a rental car and hit the road again on a Rox tour. And while I'm not thrilled to be doing so much driving, I am really super duper stoked to experiment with this videocamera I checked out from school, excited to hopefully demo at Sundance in Eugene, and really, really, really hoping that this will be the last work-party on the Raw Lab. Whisking in and out of Portland trying to get mad biz done is kinda hectic and doesn't allow much time for visiting, but I'm sure I'll see some familiar faces, score some sweet hugs, and finally get a rice latte, which SF has yet to offer up.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

It's a dancing day when Rox Chox is available in Sundance Natural Foods in Eugene, Oregon, and that day is today. Thanks to Ron, the wonderfully friendly Sundance Grocery manager for bringing Rox Chox to the Eugene public. On our drive south from Portland we stopped off and made our first delivery in person, as well as enjoyed their amazing all-organic salad bar and a big bag of the produce department's bulk fresh blueberries. Hooray!

And what could be better than enjoying Rox Chox with some books? Well, now you will be able to find out for yourself at Powell's books on Hawthorne! Yes, they carry candy bars and then they also carry ROX CHOX bars!!! The really-good-for-you-not-really-a-candy-bar-but-tastes-like-one chocolate bar.

Rox Chox will soon have its own little home in Southeast Portland. We just spent a week working on our new space. Turns out it is much more involved than we had anticipated (not surprising, really) to set up your own commercial food production space, so all week long we were hustling and still have a ways to go. What were we doing? Picking up a water heater, a fridge, patching floor cracks and meeting with the electrician then the plumbers and then patching the walls after they finished installing the pipes. Whew!

There are our sinks - the hand sink on the floor has knee pedals for us 'chocolate doctors'.

Friday, August 12, 2011

...and boy is it ever windy here! We may have moved into the windiest neighborhood, but it is still the most gorgeous city with its hills and fog and rainbow blocks of colored houses with lemons and limes hanging over their fences, so we don't mind the bluster so much. We are settling into our new home and have started our first garden together.

Of course we brought some Rox Chox with us and they found a ready home as well. River was chatting as we bought some groceries in a gem of a little organic grocery on Valencia St and mentioned Rox Chox. Turns out, he was speaking with the owner who quickly quipped, "bring me an order!". So yesterday I did just that. Now you can find Rox Chox nestled amongst a fine selection of chocolates in Valencia Whole Foods on the corner of Valencia and 21st in the Mission district of San Francisco! Ta da! Like magic.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Hooray! We have signed a lease and had a meeting with our health inspector today, and we're well on our way to fitting out our own little Chocolate Lab.

Turns out, the city permitting and plumbing costs we've just found out about are much more than we had planned... some of the perils of starting a new business are exactly these kinds of unforseen costs, apparently. However, we have decided to take the plunge, believe in our chocolate, our fans, our business and ourselves, and go further into debt for Rox Chox. A leap of faith for the love of chocolate!

BIG THANKS TO ALL YOU ROX CHOX LOVERS OUT THERE FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT. We love making chocolate for you.

It's always so exciting to hear of people who love our chocolate. Today my co-worker's animated impression of a Rox enthusiast exclaiming "OH, I just LOVE this stuff!" put a huge smile on my face. Rox Chox are now a regular feature at the three Portland Co-ops, and with our second delivery to Skagit Valley Coop already on its way, are looking to be settling into Washington pretty nicely as well. Our new ROX squared 3/4 OZ size made its debut at the Skagit Coop, and then found a place on the cafe counter. Rox Chox naturally go quite well with coffee or tea and you may now conveniently make that pairing at both Open Space Cafe and Spoke Cafe, a lovely little bike-up or walk-in cafe in the ActivSpace on SE Main and 8th in Portland.

We will also soon be expanding our reach to the totally amazing Sundance Natural Foods in Eugene, OR and (a tiny independent non-corporate) Whole Foods on Mission St in San Francisco. The more chocolate we make, the better. The more places you can find us, the better. Please request Rox Chox at your local independent or cooperatively-owned cafe or store and send them our way!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Here's a pic of the Rox Chox crew heading to the kitchen to hook you up!

We are personally leaving for San Francisco on Monday so that Rochelle can start grad school, but first we made over 20 pounds of Rox Chox to stock Portland up on its favorite new treat!

Portland fans of our delicious nutritious chocolate can find it at People's Co-op on SE 21st, the Alberta Co-op on NE Alberta, Food Front Co-op on NW Thurman, and Open Space Cafe on SE Holgate.
In Washington, you can find us at the Skagit Valley Coop!

River will be commuting to our Portland kitchen as needed over the next year to make Rox Chox while Rochelle is in school. As always, if you want to buy Rox Chox at your local Co-op, send them our way!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

And the lucky winners of the first shipment of Rox Chox bars and squares? Mount Vernon! We haven't been doing much recruiting yet since we're still getting into our new routine of making and delivering Rox Chox locally, but one of the Skagit Valley Food Co-op's staff had visited People's and that led to an order of three cases. River has been noting that I, Rochelle, am quite the perfectionista, and it took us most of the day Monday to ready all of the printed material and labels and cooler and box and ice packs to my specific requirements, then i handtrucked it to the post office yesterday!

Our first box baby is in the mail, and Rox Chox are soon available in the state of Washington.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Wow, it is a wild ride starting a business! We had a week there where we were owed for tons of orders and weren't sure we'd be able to buy the ingredients before our next production day, but thankfully the checks are arriving and so are more orders. We just got an email for an order from Skagit valley co-op in the state of Washington. Starting next week we'll be in four co-ops- RAD. So far our best seller is the Alberta Co-op in northeast Portland with about five pounds per week. Step by step. With sales like these, when we get to five co-ops, River will be employed full time by Rox Chox. When we get to ten coops, I will also be getting paid for my full time work. Self-employment is in sight!

Today I described Rox Chox as simply, 'Very rich, very dark, sweet, and a little bit salty'. Because there are the top-notch ingredients and business ethics behind it, but what really counts is what is in your mouth. One of the most rewarding moments is when I am giving away Rox samples and I see the look of surprise and delight on a first-time Rox taster's face. The taste of this chocolate... it is to LIVE for!

We have been considering moving our business with us to San Francisco in August when I start a graduate program there, but California's regulations are so strict and the kitchens so expensive that it's looking like Rox Chox will stay based in Portland for now. We might be back in two years anyways- who knows? River (and sometimes I) will be riding the train up to Portland once or twice a month to make big batches of beautiful chocolate spread onto sheet pans, boxed up, and biked or sent to you.

River and I spent all day in the kitchen today and made over twenty pounds of Rox Chox. We figured out our new Revolation chocolate tempering machine, and the Chox came out better than ever. Maybe I say this every time, but this batch, #104, is the most delicious chocolate ever!!! So far we have the bar, the bulk, the PHENOMENON (you'll see it soon), and today we came up with the R Square. You'll taste and see.

In giving a brief overview of my life in conversation with a bestie today, I realized that I am actually living the life I have been dreaming of and so many of my dreams are real! This August River and I will move to San Francisco and I will enter the New Media MFA program at SFAI. My statement of intent when I applied for this program almost two years ago focused on my desire to use my privilege to empower others, combining art and activism in the act of 'Tikkun Olam', making this world a better place. Positivity, pleasure, food justice issues, environmentalism, feminism, queer visibility and identity politics have always been central to my practice, but never more than now.

Wow, we have been running all over the city making chocolate, looking at kitchens, calling distributors, printing labels, packaging, delivering, demoing, sampling.... and definitely eating our fair share, or more of Rox Chox!

We did not expect this to be so overwhelmingly busy-making but it turns out that there's a great demand for these yummy low-glycemic chocolates! We are so happy to be sharing the bounty of raw organic sugar-free good-for-diabetics chocolates with everyone, and happy that people are enjoying treats that really treat them well.

So far you can find Rox Chox at People's Coop, Food Front Coop, the Alberta Coop and, Open Space Cafe in Portland, and on this here internet. Spreading our wings, soon we'll be at a coop near you!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Rox is gettin' around! We are now selling in bulk at People's Co-op in Southeast, bars at Food Front Co-op in Northwest, and on Sunday we'll be delivering to the Alberta Co-op in Northeast as well! Yes, we love Cooperatives.

Friday, May 20, 2011

We are so excited to say that we are spreading Rox throughout the city of Portland and you can now find us in two locations! At People's Coop on SE 21st in bulk for $2.89 per ounce and at Open Space Cafe on SE Holgate and 28th in the delicacy case. Soon we will also be in Food Front on NW Thurman.

Also very exciting is that we are working with our friend and local graphic designer Sarah Cline on our labels, and we will soon present you with Rox Chox in foil-and-paper.

In the works and on the horizon are new flavors, a custom moulded bar in two sizes, and some dreamy tees..

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Rox Chox Chocolates

Free of Sugar, Soy, Gluten, Dairy, Corn, and NutsMade with Love and five simple nutritious ingredients

Handcrafted in Portland by Rochelle and River out of 5 simple ingredients:

Raw Organic Heirloom-strain Ecuadorian Arriba Cacao

Raw Cacao is known to aid in creating a general feeling of love and well being due to its high levels of seratonin, tryptophan, theobromine, and phenethylamine (PEA).

It is extremely beneficial to humans because of its especially high levels of antioxidants (oligomeric procynanidins, resveratrol and the polyphenols: catechin and epicatechin), magnesium, and healthy Omega 6 fatty acids.

It is known to aid in weight loss (because of its high chromium and coumarin content), prevention of cavities (theobromine actually kills streptococci mutans, one of the strains of bacteria that cause tooth decay) and regulation of blood sugar which is beneficial for diabetes (chromium can naturally regulate blood sugar).

Xylitol sweetener extracted from Birch trees in Indiana

Xylitol is a low-calorie natural sweetener, made from Birch. Some people say Xylitol tastes sweeter than cane sugar. Doctors say it can prevent cavities and is good for the gums as well. Xylitol has a low glycemic index of 13 and is metabolized without insulin, making it safe for diabetics, individuals with hyperglycemia or metabolic syndrome and those on the Candida diet. It does not contribute to high blood sugar levels or the resulting hyperglycemia caused by insufficient insulin response. Xylitol is anti-bacterial so prevents tooth decay and infections of the ears and upper respiratory tract. Xylitol has also been shown to actually improve bone density and so is helpful in the treatment of osteoporosis. Xylitol contains no artificial colors or flavors and no additives or preservatives. Xylitol is free of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) and contains no gelatin or animal source materials.

Raw Organic Coconut oil and flakes from the Phillippines

Coconut oil is rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and medium-chain triglycerides that give the body an energy boost, help regulate blood sugar level, are anti-viral, anti-parasitic, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial. Coconut oil improves digestion and absorption of other nutrients, improves insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose, relieves stress on the pancreas and enzyme systems of the body, improves calcium and magnesium absorption, supports the development of strong bones and teeth, and helps protect against osteoporosis.

Celtic Sea Salt

Celtic Sea Salt is harvested from the Atlantic seawater off the coast of Brittany, France. It is naturally air and sun-dried in clay ponds and gathered with wooden tools to preserve its living enzymes. Because it is unrefined, it contains all of the 84 beneficial live mineral elements found in sea water, with no chemical and preservatives nor any other additives.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Well, we have a ways to go on our packaging, but this is a start! Here's three of the three ounce gift boxes with the valentine-style first draft label, ready to be shipped out tomorrow morning to three wonderful women, two awesome Mommas amongst them! We still have a bit to figure out on our portioning, so these turned out to be 3.5 ounces... just this once!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Rox Chox is sold out of our first batch at People's! People love this chocolate! We'll be making a new and larger batch this Sunday and are now taking orders (just to the right there) so that you may indulge in or gift these decadent yet healthy treats via the internet. If you order before May 9th in the continental U.S., we can guarantee that your gift will reach your Mother in time for Mother's day, and just for these two weeks we'll be giving free shipping. We will wrap it beautifully and include a note for her as well. If you would like to write a longer note than will fit in the (60 character) text box to the right, please email us your message at: roxchoxpdx@gmail.com. Thanks!

Sampled out Rox Chox at the People's farmers market today to rave reviews! Yes, free of sugar can taste DELICIOUS!!! Thanks to the Grocery and Perishable Grocery department for your support, and to all the tasters and fans out there!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Welcome to Rox Chox! We are River and Rochelle, and we make delicious chocolate by hand in our Raw Lab in Southeast Portland, Oregon. Here is a photo of Rochelle posing with our organic & fair trade raw ingredients.

Rox Chox is a really delicious chocolate candy bar.

Rox Chox is more than a candy bar, though. The unprocessed raw cacao and coconut in Rox Chox are chock full of nutrients, enzymes, and feel-good antioxidants, and the only sweetener we use is actually recommended by dentists because it promotes oral health. But it is so delicious most people are surprised that it is sugar-free and safe for diabetics. We are happy to provide a sweet and amazingly healthy treat to folks who have food sensitivities and our Rox Lab is free of most allergens, but Rox Chox is also for anyone who just loves delicious chocolate. This richly decadent chocolate treat began in the winter of 2010 when I, Rochelle, had doc's orders to go on a very restricted diet and couldn't eat sugar of any kind. I didn't care too much about carbs or refined sugar, and fruits were really hard to give up, but I could not give up chocolate. In a seventh grade time capsule I included chocolate chips and asked my future self if it was wrong to sneak chocolate from the kitchen at night (it's totally ok, child-self - here's some Rox Chox). I come from a long line of chocolate lovers. I love chocolate.

And yes, it really is good for you.

So over the course of a snowy cabin winter in the Willamette National Forest in Oregon, I experimented with recipes. By springtime I had it down. I always traveled with Rox Chox and shared it sparingly with friends. They told me that it was so delicious that I had to sell it. I had been working at People's Food Coop as a collective manager for four years in the Grocery department, so I knew that there really was nothing else like Rox Chox out there. A delicious sugar-free chocolate that is super good for you? And Vegan? And Raw? And almost all Organic? And Fair Trade? For Real!

Rox Chox was born in a whirlwind. In May of 2011 I got started with the research on legalities, rented some commissary time, did a trial run of bulk Chox at People's, and decided to go for it. In June, my partner River, who is a Culinary Professional, joined me as head of production. We have been paying for everything as we go, building this business one step at a time as sustainably and compassionately as possible, and we have been delightfully rewarded by so many of our fans sharing their love for our lovingly crafted chocolate.

Today I described Rox Chox as simply, 'Very rich, very dark, sweet, and a little bit salty'. Because there are the top-notch ingredients and business ethics behind it, but what really counts is what is in your mouth. One of the most rewarding moments is when I am giving away Rox samples and I see the look of surprise and delight on a first-time Rox taster's face. The taste of this chocolate... it is to LIVE for!

Here's why Rox Chox are special beyond deliciousness:

Our ingredients are fair-trade sourced and are mostly raw (unroasted) and organic, preserving the beneficial minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants found in unprocessed cacao and coconut. All those new findings on the benefits of chocolate are right, but not if you roast it and then add sugar and dairy, so...

Our treats are free of Sugar, Soy, Gluten, Dairy (vegan), Nuts and GMOs. That means, yes, diabetics can eat our chocolate. So can those on the Candida (Can-Do-It!) cleanse. But Don't Let Your Dog Friends near! Xylitol is poison to them.

We handcraft our chocolate in small batches in the certified Rox Chox Raw Lab in Southeast Portland, Oregon, which is a dairy, sugar, soy, and gluten free facility where the only nut is coconut.

We offer Rox Chox in packages and also in bulk as a more sustainable and affordable option. If you would like to cut back on packaging and fill your container with chocolate, you could ask your store to carry Rox in Bulk, or contact us directly for custom orders.

Rox Chox welcomes wholesale and custom orders.

Contact us at: roxchoxpdx@gmail.com or (503) 523 7538

You may order Rox Chox over the internet right here on this blog at the right sidebar or on the 'Find Chox' page, or walk into any of the wonderful co-ops and independent natural food stores where Rox Chox has found quite the following.